Since its inception, Samsung has pioneered the concept of a foldable smartphone. Its original Galaxy Fold had a rocky start, which was delayed until fall 2019. While not making dramatic changes to the device this year, Samsung has refined the Galaxy Fold to a point where it could possibly be considered as a daily driver for people. So, does the Galaxy Fold 4 meet that bar?

Z Fold 4 Design

Though minor design changes might not seem worth mentioning, they have made noticeable improvements to the experience of using the device. The front screen didn't increase in size, but is slightly wider this year. This change makes it easier to use the front screen in certain instances, such as when typing on a keyboard. Using the front screen now feels good for regular use, instead of a quick compromise until you open the device.

The Fold 4's inner screen also remains the same size, but it has changed to be slightly wider as well. When unfolded, the main screen is more square-like compared to the Fold 3. The Fold 4 is somewhat shorter than its predecessor. It is also noticeably lighter than the Fold 3.

Lastly, the spine of the Fold 4 is also slightly thinner. These changes help address two of the most significant compromises when using this device as a daily driver; the size and thickness. The previous Folds were tall and thick devices. While expected, carrying it around isn't as easy since it's a folding phone that turns into a small tablet. This defeats the product's main selling point of having a tablet-sized screen in a typical smartphone's footprint.

These changes make the Fold 4 more portable and easier to use. To put it into perspective, the Galaxy Fold 4 is slightly shorter than the iPhone 13 Pro Max. The Z Fold 4 has now become nearly as easy to carry around as a regular phone, which is a big step forward.

Unboxing and Setup

Like last year, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 comes with a USB-C cable, documentation, and a SIM card (if you buy it through a carrier).

Setting up the device is seamless thanks to the One UI's setup process. At the end, Samsung presents a list of warnings so that you can protect your device. Similar to years prior, you shouldn't expose the device to a lot of dust or dirt, poke the inner screen with your fingernail, and more.

These may seem like serious compromises to using the phone, but they shouldn't scare you away from using it.

The Displays: Still Mind Blowing

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 has an external 6.2-inch Dynamic AMOLED display with a resolution of 2316 x 904. The front screen also supports 120Hz for smooth scrolling and animations. It is a reasonably tall display, but it is enjoyable to use. It almost feels like a regular smartphone, which is the screen's intended purpose.

Inside the Fold is the same 7.6-inch folding display with a new 2176 x 1812 resolution. The inner display also supports a 120Hz refresh rate. The larger display is perfect for watching content and multitasking. Samsung can make this display fold because it uses a layer of plastic on top of a very thin piece of glass. The Fold 4 also continues to have a plastic screen protector to provide some protection from light scratches.

The displays are clear and vibrant, as you would expect from a Samsung device. They are the best-in-class displays you can get on a smartphone in terms of quality.

CPU and GPU Performance

For most of their flagship smartphones, such as their Galaxy S22 lineup, Samsung uses two different types of processors. The two types they use are the Snapdragon series and their own Exynos series. This inconsistency caused headaches for some users since the Exynos chips were not as powerful or efficient as Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips. However, all versions of Samsung's foldable phones use the Snapdragon series chips from Qualcomm. The Galaxy Z Fold 4 features the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip with the Adreno 730 GPU.

The device also has 12GB of RAM regardless of how much storage you have onboard. The phone is fast and doesn't lag compared to previous Samsung phones. In terms of Geekbench CPU numbers, the Galaxy Fold 4 scores a single-core score of 1319 and a multi-core score of 4110. For graphics, the Adreno 730 GPU scored 6410.

Since the Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 chip is the latest from Qualcomm, it'll be able to handle anything you throw at it, coupled with ample RAM. One UI has also been well optimized and doesn't overload the user with unnecessary features, which can slow down performance. Samsung has come a long way since the days of TouchWiz, which caused painstaking lag for users over time.

The Cameras

The Galaxy Fold 4 features a rear triple camera system: a 50-megapixel standard wide camera, a 10-megapixel telephoto camera, and a 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera. The wide and telephoto cameras are upgraded this year, with the main camera receiving an upgrade from 12-megapixels, and the telephoto camera gaining 3x optical zoom. This change also enables 30X Space Zoom, allowing you to take photos from very far away.

The Galaxy Fold 4 also has two selfie cameras, one on the cover display and one on the inner display.

Unlike the front cover selfie camera, the inner selfie camera is located underneath the display. While this improves the viewing experience since there is no obvious cut-out in the display, the camera suffers in quality, limited to a measly 4 megapixels.

If you plan to use a selfie camera a lot on the Fold 4 for video calls or just regular selfies, it's best to use the cover screen selfie camera.

When it comes to the Fold 4's rear-facing cameras, things are not as controversial. Samsung's phones have some of the best cameras on a smartphone. The 50-megapixel wide camera produces fantastic photos with a lot of detail and vibrant colors.

The Galaxy Fold 4 also features Nightography, which is Samsung’s version of night mode. This feature allows you to take stunning photos even in low light conditions. It automatically activates when it detects low light, or you can enable the mode manually.

Samsung’s camera app also has some tricks for a large screen. You can view the image you take in the viewfinder and immediately delete or share it. The app also shifts its on-screen controls to the half of the screen that is on a surface, allowing you to prop up the camera to take stable photos easily. Combined with the timer option in the camera app, it is straightforward to take a group photo.

The Galaxy Z Fold 4 can also shoot video up to 8K at 24 frames per second and also provides features such as Super Steady, which helps stabilize the video. However, Super Steady limits the resolution to up to 1080p at 60 frames per second, so you won't be able to shoot in 4K.

Samsung’s camera system on the Fold 4 is feature-packed, and you can rely on it to take remarkable photos and videos in multiple situations.

Battery Life

The Z Fold 4 features two battery cells that combine to 4400 mAh, on par with most flagship smartphones. The benchmark that a flagship smartphone needs to hit in terms of battery life is to last a full day with medium to heavy usage. Anything beyond that is almost unnecessary since most people charge their phone overnight.

During testing, the Galaxy Fold 4 made it through a full day of regular usage—using social media, watching YouTube videos, checking email, using work applications, browsing the web, and more. The Z Fold 4 also has solid standby time. You won't have to worry about this device running out of battery before the day's end unless you play a lot of games or stream 4K video all day.

Multitasking, Simplified

Samsung markets the Galaxy Fold as a multitasking powerhouse. This year with the Fold 4, you can now access your home screen's dock while you are in any app, thanks to Android 12L. This allows you to drag and drop applications and have them in a split view for easy multitasking. You can also access the app drawer from the dock if you want to use an application that isn't already in your dock.

You can rearrange the window sizes and add up to three apps on the screen, as well as an additional one in a pop view. In terms of app arrangement, when in the multitasking view, you can have them vertical or horizontal. The Fold 4 also lets you swap the app positions too.

Lastly, if you use two certain apps in multitasking frequently, you can add a shortcut to the taskbar or home screen, so you can easily access those apps without dragging and dropping them into the multitasking view each time.

This implementation of multitasking UI is significantly better than in years past. It's not overblown or overly complicated as some can be. This new multitasking view is also coming to Samsung's older Fold phones, but you can use it right now on the Fold 4.

Can a Folding Screen Be Repaired?

The Galaxy Fold 4 uses Gorilla Glass Victus+ on the front screen and rear panel. It also uses Armor Aluminum for the frame, which is supposed to make it more durable. However, since Samsung’s foldable displays are mainly made of plastic, they are not nearly as durable as glass in terms of scratch resistance. This means that you may notice indentations or scratches on the display over time. This is where things get complicated with repairing the device.

Repairing the folding display yourself is a nightmare. The screen repair process is challenging since you have to tear off the plastic display border around the display. iFixit’s teardown of the Z Fold 4 and Z Flip 4 demonstrated this. Even if you are not looking to replace the folding screen and need to replace another component inside the device, there is a good chance you will damage the display during the process.

The battery is easier to replace. However, since the phone is water-resistant, it is still challenging since you will have to use heat to soften the adhesive and remove the back panel. And it's important to note that this will compromise the water resistance.

If you plan to keep a folding phone long-term, adding extra warranty coverage is a smart move, so you don't have to face costly repairs on a somewhat frequent basis, even though repairs for the Fold 4 cost less than previous generations. You can get this from Samsung directly with their Samsung Care+ service.

Should You Buy the Galaxy Z Fold 4?

Yes, if you can accept the durability issues of the device. Samsung's folding phones have been desirable to early adopters but usually are not recommended as daily drivers for most people due to mainly two things: high price tag and durability. Both areas have been improved here, with the Fold dropping a couple of hundred dollars since the first generation, multiple durability improvements, and even gaining an IP water resistance rating since the third generation.

The Galaxy Fold is becoming more of a polished product. This year brought some minor refinements that play a significant role in this device's evolution. If you are willing to be more cautious with your smartphone and pay a high price tag, the Galaxy Z Fold 4 provides an experience that most smartphones don't replicate.